Mississippi John Hurt
John Smith Hurt (March 8, 1893 – November 2, 1966), better known as Mississippi John Hurt, was an American country blues singer and guitarist. Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself to play the guitar around the age of nine. He worked as a sharecropper and began playing at dances and parties, singing to a melodious fingerpicked accompaniment. His first recordings, made for Okeh Records in 1928, were commercial failures, and he continued to work as a farmer. Dick Spottswood and Tom Hoskins, a blues enthusiast, located Hurt in 1963 and persuaded him to move to Washington, D.C. He was recorded by the Library of Congress in 1964. This helped further the American folk music revival, which led to the rediscovery of many other bluesmen of Hurt's era. Hurt performed on the university and coffeehouse concert circuit with other Delta blues musicians who were brought out of retirement. He also recorded several albums for Vanguard Records. Hurt returned to Grenada, Mississippi in 1966, where he died at the age of 73. Material recorded by him has been re-released by many record labels. His songs have been recorded by Bob Dylan, Dave Van Ronk, Jerry Garcia, Beck, Doc Watson, John McCutcheon, Taj Mahal, Bruce Cockburn, David Johansen, Bill Morrissey, Gillian Welch, The Be Good Tanyas, Josh Ritter, Chris Smither, Guthrie Thomas, Parsonsfield, and Rory Block. |
Birth and Death Data: Born July 3, 1894 (Carroll County), Died November 2, 1966 (Grenada)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1928
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, guitar, speaker, composer
Notes: Original name: John Smith Hurt.
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OKeh | W400219 | 10-in. | 2/14/1928 | Monday morning blues | Mississippi John Hurt | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W400220 | 10-in. | 2/14/1928 | Shiverlie Red blues | Mississippi John Hurt | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W400221 | 10-in. | 2/14/1928 | Frankie | Mississippi John Hurt | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W400222 | 10-in. | 2/14/1928 | Casey Jones | Mississippi John Hurt | Male vocal solo and monologue, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, speaker | |
OKeh | W400223 | 10-in. | 2/14/1928 | Nobody's dirty business | Mississippi John Hurt | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W400224 | 10-in. | 2/14/1928 | Blessed be the name | Mississippi John Hurt | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W400225 | 10-in. | 2/14/1928 | Meeting on the old camp ground | Mississippi John Hurt | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W400226 | 10-in. | 2/14/1928 | Sliding Delta | Mississippi John Hurt | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W401471 | 10-in. | 12/21/1928 | Ain't no tellin' | Mississippi John Hurt | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W401472 | 10-in. | 12/21/1928 | Louis Collins | Mississippi John Hurt | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, composer, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W401473 | 10-in. | 12/21/1928 | Avalon blues | Mississippi John Hurt | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W401474 | 10-in. | 12/21/1928 | Big leg blues | Mississippi John Hurt | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W401481 | 10-in. | 12/28/1928 | Stack o' Lee blues | Mississippi John Hurt | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W401482 | 10-in. | 12/28/1928 | Window light blues | Mississippi John Hurt | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W401483 | 10-in. | 12/28/1928 | Candy man blues | Mississippi John Hurt | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W401484 | 10-in. | 12/28/1928 | Got the blues, can't be satisfied | Mississippi John Hurt | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W401485 | 10-in. | 12/28/1928 | Blessed be the name | Mississippi John Hurt | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W401486 | 10-in. | 12/28/1928 | Praying on the old camp ground | Mississippi John Hurt | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W401487 | 10-in. | 12/28/1928 | Blue harvest blues | Mississippi John Hurt | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W401488 | 10-in. | 12/28/1928 | Spike driver blues | Mississippi John Hurt | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Hurt, Mississippi John," accessed November 24, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/104353.
Hurt, Mississippi John. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 24, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/104353.
"Hurt, Mississippi John." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 24 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Mississippi John Hurt
Discogs: Mississippi John Hurt
Allmusic: Mississippi John Hurt
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Hurt, Mississippi John, 1892-1966 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n83172297
Wikidata: Mississippi John Hurt - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q382962
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/42025537
MusicBrainz: Mississippi John Hurt - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/802484e0-90de-4611-9fa4-f5ef0c7727b6
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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